


Alaska Bill

by wickedlywonderful



Category: Simply Moyer, True Blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-11-11 09:16:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11145444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedlywonderful/pseuds/wickedlywonderful
Summary: Bill's Life Story had he chosen to work toward the goal of achieving mainstreaming rather than working to unseat Queen Sophie Anne.





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

While Bill did meet Nan Flannigan in London, he chose not to work for Queen Sophie Anne. He was extremely interested however, in working for Nan to achieve the goal of, “Coming Out of the Coffin” and once the AVL was formed he was happily entrenched in it.

Sookie’s cousin Hadley, ran away from drug rehab with a guy named Mitch. He took her to Texas, where sadly, they both OD’d on bad dope. Queen Sophie Anne never made Hadley’s acquaintance.

Bill enjoyed mainstreaming and when Jesse Compton died, he returned to his ancestral home in Bon Temps, Louisiana. It took some time to restore it but it was worth it and he enjoyed using it for down time and solitude. While it was being restored he made a few friends in Bon Temps and actually enjoyed going to a small tavern called Merlotte’s. He met Sookie Stackhouse there and thought her oddly enthusiastic about vampires. She smelled wonderful and she intrigued him somewhat but he was busy with renovations and didn’t spend a lot of time at the bar. Once the house was finished, he returned to New Orleans and his job with the AVL. He was instrumental in the passing of the Vampire Rights Amendment and led the way in helping to structure legislation to help both Vampire-Americans and humans co-exist.

After a researcher at Johns-Hopkins, discovered an aftereffect of glamouring in the brain quite by accident, it was decided that additional laws were needed. They included one of the most controversial, at least to those vampires that refused to adapt to mainstreaming. Basically, if a human showed the effects of glamouring and had been fed on without permission, that human could demand and receive recompense. If it was proven a vampire had used glamour in order to make a human take their blood without consent to form a blood bond, the vampire could now be subjected to fines and incarceration.

Even though there was a lot of hurdles with the law, including the fact that the artifacts discovered on the brain scans lessened considerably over a fairly short period of time, most people couldn’t afford to have their brains scanned just to check and see if they’d been recently glamoured on a regular basis so it wasn’t something that had a huge use. It did, however, create a great deal of goodwill to humans. Most saw it as a positive sign that the vampires truly were concerned about humans and thwarting those vampires that might choose to use them. It became a win-win for the most part and the law’s passage made Bill a very important figure in the AVL and in the United States as a whole.

As Bill’s pressure’s in the AVL grew and he became more recognizable, his desire for a little peace and privacy became greater. He began searching for a way to maximize his ability to work longer hours and be the most effective at his job as he could, yet remain fairly unaccosted by everyday recognition. His answer was the Alaskan winters. In the Interior, there were days as short as under four hours! With their long nights, it didn’t take him long to adjust to being awake longer and he discovered that if he increased his intake of TruBlood along with some recently developed vampire supplements, he rarely got the bleeds. He found his refuge and with the addition of some state of the art upgrades, made his move in order to have nearly eight months of twelve hours and more a night, in which to have all to himself.

**This is his story…**


	2. Chapter 2

Bill Compton looked out over the harsh, yet hauntingly beautiful Alaskan landscape. It was still hours before dawn but he could see perfectly fine of course. Vampire night vision was indeed a handy thing. The wind swirled around the trees heavy with snow, obscuring the tracks of the wolves that had slunk between them a few hours before. Bill had found that surprising, usually the predators didn’t come so close to his dwelling but he thought perhaps it was the direction of the wind that had allowed them to come so close. The only other predator to venture in had been years ago, a waking Alaskan grizzly. Bill had hated to kill him but the bear was hungry, crabby and determined to consume him so he’d had no choice but to defend himself. It was at the end of his first winter there, it had taught him not to stay too late into the spring, although that bear had emerged abnormally early from normal hibernation times.

Bill sighed and glanced at the thick bear pelt rug on the floor before the fireplace. Bill had been very lucky that night, as the bear had nearly killed him. While it had been distasteful, without the bear’s blood, Bill may not have made it back inside and would have died in the sun as it dawned however briefly that day. Bill raised his glass to his lips and sipped his TruBlood. He smiled a little, while it wasn’t nearly as good as human blood it was certainly better than grizzly blood. Bill watched the sky as it danced above him, the tops of the black spruce trees, the jagged, snow covered mountains in the distance at a higher elevation. It was beautiful country and he would be sad to leave it. But as much as he enjoyed all the time he spent here for its deliciously long nights, the land of the midnight sun would begin living up to its name in just a few short weeks and that would never do.

He turned away from the window and put another log into the fireplace, poured a fresh TruBlood and sat in his comfortable leather chair before the fire. He picked up a file folder and held it unopened in his hand as his mind produced images in his mind. Helena. Her dark auburn, waist length hair, loose and framing her naked shoulders. Her emerald green eyes flecked with liquid gold and feathered around them her thick, long black lashes, sparkling at him, mischievous, sultry, daring him to respond to the need in them. Bill sighed lightly and set the folder down on the table beside him, leaning his head back against the chair. What was he going to do about Helena Simmons? Or Lainie as he liked to call her. He closed his eyes, a slight smile played at his lips… he’d come to this secluded abode to relish his solitude and throw himself into his work. Then he’d met Lainie…

_If there was one thing Bill loved most about Alaska, it was the fact that its short winter days didn’t find him shopping only at places that catered to vampire habits. The downside was that Alaska in general could lack in regular store hours entirely depending upon where one was located. At the moment, he was in Anchorage so he was fortunate. He waited in the line for the service counter and scanned his shopping list once more, reading it, he finally remembered the thing he also needed… more printer ink! Looks like he’d have to run to Wal-Mart before leaving town too. Which was fine because he wanted to find a nice thank you card for Susie._

_He’d bought her a beautiful seal fur parka with an arctic fox ruff and matching seal fur mukluks as a special thank you for getting his house winter ready for him. He knew she’d appreciate the Native-made gifts and also knew they’d be well used. Even though he paid her well to take care of his property in his absence, he generally opened things up himself but being delayed by almost a month had required him to ask extra of her this year. He knew he’d find it warm, well stocked with firewood and fuel not to mention being certain that everything was in working order but also the little things he appreciated like homemade fireweed candles, scented soaps and other little treats she made for him._

_She always bemoaned the fact that she couldn’t supply him with her best, which was self-shot and homegrown ingredients, moose stew, hand-picked berry pies and smoked salmon, which Bill understood from others were out of this world. Even so, he was always thrilled with her handmade gifts to him, especially when she’d discovered him after the bear attack. She’d been the one that had found the beast and took care of the carcass and in the process provided him with the bear skin rug gracing his floor in front of the fireplace. She’d happily accepted the meat in exchange._

_Yes, Susie was a wonder. A 60-year-old Alaskan widow, at one time a true homesteader, although now they were thought of as those that lived off-grid, who had bought a summer lodge after losing her husband in a logging accident in the wild. It wasn’t so much the remoteness of bush living that had gotten to her, although it had certainly been a huge factor in her husband’s death, but that by the age of 45, she knew she didn’t want the lonely existence that loomed large before her if she stayed there. She found a lodge owner tired of people and a deal was struck. She threw herself into re-imagining what she wanted the Lodge to be and it suited her._

_The Lodge had been open year-round and it had only just been getting by, catering to snowmachiners and mushers in the winter months, hunters and tourists at other times of the year and the troubles they could bring. Her first order of business had been to cease all advertising and close down for a winter. She’d gone so far as to post notices in nearby towns and papers warning others. Still, she’d had to rescue a few people from certain death that first year when they’d showed up at the Lodge expecting service and safety in the frigid weather. She’d been annoyed but also prepared with plenty of warmth and food and everyone had returned home safely but she was glad she’d closed. The machines were loud and smelly and she preferred the quiet peace of her snowy, sound-dampened surroundings._

_She spent a year fixing up the lodge to cater to those that enjoyed the more silent sports of life, hikers, bird-watchers, kayakers and those just seeking a connection to nature and its solitude and went after them. It was how Bill had met her in the first place, he’d had an annoyingly stressful few months at work and had wanted some serious and well-deserved privacy. He came across an ad she’d placed, leasing a nearby property. Bill grinned, well, nearby for rural Alaska which was about sixty miles from her place! The owner of the property that bordered Susie’s had decided to give up snow-birding and move permanently to a warmer climate._

_Susie bought it but soon realized she’d have to keep it up all winter as she wouldn’t have enough time to shut it down properly. So, she decided to see if she could rent it out. Bill found it and after his first winter there, bear attack aside, couldn’t imagine not returning so he made an offer to buy it from her. He’d had improvements done, including the construction of a safe room, which had been an interesting challenge because of the permafrost, but when it was all said and done, he dearly loved his winter getaway. He and Susie had become good friends and he paid her to keep an eye on things over the months he couldn’t be there._

_She in turn had introduced him to the small community and neighbors around him and he wondered how hard life would have been there for him, if she had not. She told him she’d taken a lot of grief from others that first winter, it was after all, a small community and people were worried. Once no one went missing they relaxed about him some, which Bill thought was ironic as he’d been forced to drink from two of them out of pure necessity and emergency. Of course, they hadn’t known and Bill learned to keep his TruBlood safer from freezing after that._

It was his turn in line and he told the girl he was there to pick up his winter supplies and after he paid for them, she directed him to the loading dock where he could pick up his things. He left the store and drove around and while two warehouse guys loaded the back of his custom pickup, the covered bed was heated to keep anything transported from freezing, such as the numerous cases of TruBlood that were being loaded. It was nearly a five-hour ride to his place and after his first miscalculation of the temperatures there in the winter, he wasn’t about to be deprived of his supply of sustenance again! An hour later after two more stops, he hit the road and got more relaxed with each passing mile.

As expected thanks to Susie, his driveway was plowed, the outside lights were on and when he got out of the truck he could smell the wood smoke and hear the quiet hum of the furnace. He parked in the attached garage, unloading quickly before settling in. He rekindled the banked fireplace fire as he put away his TruBlood and luggage enjoying the smell of the Alaskan wild rose candle Susie had left for him. Finally, with the fire crackling, he poured himself a drink and settled in his chair to read the novel he’d bought in Anchorage, looking forward to seeing Susie the next evening.

**XxXxX**

_Bill was pleasantly surprised when Susie arrived the next night with company. He thought she was in her early 20’s, a truly beautiful young woman. She was tall, at least 5’ 10’, slender but well-built, athletic and quite strong he suspected. Her eyes were bright and curious and her hair was dark and long and for an instant he could think of nothing more than how wonderful it would feel if he could run his fingers through the silky tresses. That shocked him back into the moment and as he invited them to sit, Susie explained that Helena was there to learn how to mush._

_“Part of the reason I rudely invited myself along to meet you was because your property has some terrain that would be good training ground for me and my team. I was hoping you would give me permission to use it from time to time.” Helena said, her voice was strong but lyrical with a tonality that Bill suspected would make her a good singer._

_Bill’s brows knitted together slightly as he considered her request. “How close would you be?” he asked._

_“It would be about a mile or two north of the house, I’d be mainly interested in the rougher area, where it starts going higher and into the foothills out of the treeline… and if you’re agreeable, night runs and rest periods.”_

_“You run at night?” This surprised him, he knew little about dog mushing and thought the idea of mushing at night was rather dangerous. “How would you see?”_

_“I wear a head lamp and use lithium D batteries, I can see enough to be safe, the biggest issue of running at night is the boredom and monotony! I have to listen to music or I’d end up falling off the rails sound asleep otherwise.” she answered with a gentle laugh._

_“To be quite honest, I have no problem with it except, well, I may wish to rescind permission if I find your presence on the property to be disruptive to me. I hope you can understand.”_

_Helena smiled a brilliant smile and answered excitedly, “Really! You’ll let me try it? That’s great and I promise, I will do everything I can to not disturb you… thank you so much!”_

_Bill was captivated by this young woman and once again gave thought to being alone with her. He chastised himself, “Good heavens! You’d think I’ve not been with a woman in years!” Still, he couldn’t help but watch her mouth as she spoke, thrilled by the excitement in her voice, her enthusiasm and verve. This one was going to be trouble and somehow, he could hardly wait._

**XxXxX**

_It was about a month later that it happened. She’d left a note on his door a few days earlier. She’d spent a couple days putting a trail of sorts in and wanted to let him know she was going to start using it for some night runs. Bill had been stretched out on the sofa with his laptop putting the finishing touches on his monthly report when he heard the howling. After a moment, his mind processed what it was he heard. It wasn’t that close and there was something that seemed discordant about it. He closed the laptop and put it on the coffee table. Walking to the door he opened it slightly and listened intently. His first realization was that those weren’t wolves howling in the distance and more than that, there were yips of what was that? fearful anxiety? No, those were dogs screaming._

_Before he was fully aware of his decision to check things out, he was pulling on winter gear and nanoseconds later was quickly making his way north. With the snowshoes on he couldn’t move as fast as his usual speed but he honed in on the barking and howling and reached her in mere minutes. Her team was tangled around some trees, Jack, her lead dog was screaming and thrashing in his harness trying to reach his mistress, her sled badly damaged and she herself lay motionless in the snow. A quick look showed Bill she had a badly broken leg, a possibly dislocated hip and the scent of blood hung heavy in the air. She was crumpled on her side and Bill suspected from the position of things that her sled had hit something beneath the snow throwing her into the trees. How the dogs ended up so tangled was a mystery, he could only assume they’d tried to get back to her. He knelt beside her and carefully supported her head as he peered into her damaged face. She was bleeding heavily from a deep cut on her forehead, from the dip he could see in her skin, her cheekbone was likely shattered and her eye socket might not be much better. She must have hit the tree she was near face first._

_If there was any good thing thus far it was that laying in the snow had helped to keep her face and tissues from swelling to the point of making her unable to breathe. The dogs had mostly quieted and the two that still raged were freed with a quick rip of their harnesses. Once loose, Jack nosed her with his muzzle, licked her face then threw back his head and howled. It took mere seconds but it was enough time for Bill to make up his mind, burrowing close to her, he opened a vein in his wrist and carefully dripped his blood into her mouth. His other hand slowly stroked her throat beneath her wrappings encouraging her body to swallow._

**XxXxX**

_Helena’s mind was spiraling and churning with images and sensations she couldn’t grab hold of… flashes of light and sudden darkness, screaming dogs, blood; the smell of it, the taste of it, pain so vivid she could touch it and… what was that? Who? Before she could grasp it, the black overwhelmed her again only to be wrenched apart by the feeling of being torn to pieces, her face burned, her leg pulsed with a perception of pain so excruciating she couldn’t believe it existed. Like a curtain being slowly opened, she heard a soothing voice urging her to open her eyes. She did and swam in the deep blue that engulfed her, the pain ebbed away and she slipped into a gentle sleep._

**XxXxX**

_Bill watched as Helena healed. She lay in his bed, her breathing even and slow. He was regretting his decision to glamour her into dreamless sleep but he had to have time to figure out what to do. When he’d realized, she was bleeding out because of an artery torn by the compound fracture of her leg when he’d moved her, he had to give her more of his blood to heal. It was either that or let her die. She couldn’t die because he wanted her… wanted her more than he could imagine and not just sexually. He wanted to know her, care about her, connect with her. Now all he had to do was watch her heal, awaken her and explain it to her. And hope she didn’t want to file charges against him for his actions… a law that oddly enough, he’d helped get passed._

**XxXxX**  

_Helena opened her eyes and became aware of two things simultaneously, she was in an unfamiliar bed and she wasn’t alone. Her eyes lit on Bill and her first thought was that he looked guilty and it hit her, she wasn’t in her bed so she must be in his! At this she sat up quickly, noticing instantly that she was naked and oh God… blood smeared!_

_Bill quickly stepped back, averted his eyes and raised his hands toward her in appeal, “Please, Helena! It’s not what you think and I beg you to let me explain what’s happened to you, please.”_

_She yanked the covers against her chest and breathing in choppy gulps said haltingly, “Ah, yes expl…” she heard a whine and glanced toward the door at the sound. “What?”_

_Bill, still not looking at her directly walked to the door and opened it. Her dogs flowed through the door and onto the bed, knocking her over as she screeched as they stepped on her, licked whatever skin they could reach and generally mauled her over with worried enthusiasm._

_Bill cleared his throat as she quieted them and said, “I’ll go downstairs, please the bathroom is just there… so please, shower and help yourself to anything in the closet. When you’re done, come downstairs and we can talk.”_

_She looked at him and was surprised to see a look of worry and perhaps, longing? Cross his face before he nodded once and stepped out the door. She shooed the dogs off his bed and stood and got another shock. There were awful yellowing bruises on her legs and a fresh, vivid and truly nasty looking scar about two inches above her knee. With a sigh, she realized that it was going to be a long night of conversation at the very least. So, even though she was shaking, she walked to the bedroom door, opened it enough to speak out of and said, “Bill, if you have any coffee I think I could use some.” She walked to the bathroom and turned on the water to warm. The dogs, being pretty smart, jumped back on the bed to nap while she showered._

_About twenty minutes later, dressed in some of Bill’s clothes with a towel wrapped around her thick, wet hair she sat with her hands wrapped around a mug of rich coffee and her feet tucked beneath her on his sofa she listened raptly as he described her many injuries. She had quite a start in the bathroom when she was toweling off and discovered the scar on her leg had completely disappeared along with the last remnants of bruises. She’d had to sit on the edge of the tub and put her head between her knees as her stomach flipped and twisted but she’d kept it together._

_She had little recollection of the accident itself and Bill assured her he had nothing to do with that. She believed him completely because of the sheer amount of blood she’d washed out of her hair. She’d likely had a massive concussion. Not to mention the bloody water in the tub where her clothes were currently soaking. She’d pulled her long underwear pants out of the water and had seen the ugly rent through the fabric, she shuddered, dropped them, drained the water and refilled it before raiding Bill’s closet and going downstairs._

_“So, what you’re saying is that if you hadn’t heard the dogs, if I’d been just somewhere out on the trail, I would have either bled to death as soon as I’d moved or been attacked by wolves or something before I could have gotten help?”_

_“Yes.” His face was grave._

_She sipped from her cup, staring into the fire and contemplated all he’d told her. His original intention had been to get her healed enough to get back to the house to summon help. A plan that had to quickly change when it became apparent she wouldn’t survive without serious intervention. Once he’d gotten her here, the pain was making her combative so he’d glamoured her in order to calm her enough to heal. Her mind flitted between fragmented thoughts, the flashes of excruciating pain, her shower water running red with blood as she washed her hair, her clothes in the tub… she sighed deeply and slowly she turned her eyes to Bill’s._

_“Man, I thought of a about a million and one things that could go wrong when I decided to move to Alaska but bleeding to death in the night wasn’t one of them. Shit, the only time I considered something like that, I dismissed it because I always thought about animal attack and I’m always armed and super vigilant…” her voice trailed off but she held his gaze for a brief moment._

_“Thank you, Bill, I think I can safely say I owe you my life.” She reached out to him, he stood and took her hand and she pulled him near her until he sat down beside her. “Tell me more.” She whispered. Later, at her urging, they lay naked on the bear skin rug before the fire and made love for hours and Bill was utterly captivated._

**XxXxX**

Bill’s glass was empty and the fire had burned low once again. Glancing at the clock he decided not to add another log. He’d been with Lainie every winter for many years now and he was still no closer to any sort of decision about where to go from here. She’d become a good musher and had finally accomplished her dream of owning a small kennel and completing the Yukon Quest, a 1,016-mile dog race after years of competing in many shorter distance races every season. He’d even traveled to Whitehorse, Yukon to meet her at the finish line. She had entered twice and scratched but the third time had been her charm and she’d done it in under thirteen days. She retired from racing after that and now just enjoyed mushing for her personal pleasure.

The thing was that they had begun vacationing together occasionally during the summer months in the last few years and when Bill had arrived this year he’d realized how overjoyed he was to see her again and knew it was time to make some decisions. He couldn’t stay in Alaska during the summer but the thought of seeing her only on video chat and occasional vacations filled him with dread. He got up and carried his glass to the kitchen, he returned to the living room, banked the fire and made his way to his sleeping chamber. He settled himself into bed and pulled out one of his favorite books but couldn’t concentrate on reading. As the pale Alaskan dawn spread across the sky he drifted off, no closer to any answer as to how he was going to live without her for the coming months.

Bill woke in one of his favorite ways, Lainie’s warm naked body snugged up against his, her breath tickling his throat as she placed little kisses there, her warm hand gently stroking his rising length through his sleep pants.

“Hmm,” she purred quietly, “I thought that might get your attention.”

With the purr of a tiger rather than a housecat, Bill rolled on top of her pinning her to the mattress, kissing her passionately while gently spreading her thighs with his knee. He drew his face back from hers and she smiled widely as she drew in a deep breath.

“Good evening, my darling girl.” Bill smiled down at her, his blue eyes twinkling with delight.

She ran her fingertips softly down the side of his face and smiled back, “Hello to you too.”

They brought their lips together lightly and Bill shifted them so they lay curled in each other’s arms on their sides. He placed soft kisses on her forehead, eyelids and nose before asking how her business had gone. She’d been away for just over a week and Bill had been out of sorts with her gone. Her eyes flicked away from his briefly and when they did he saw something in them. For some reason, it worried him.

“Oh, fine. It went well… let’s not talk about that now.” With that she pulled his face to hers and kissed him, gently at first, then much more urgently.

Bill felt a surge of emotion from her, its intensity surprised him a little but then again, it had been a week so rather than question it, he gave in and buried himself in the sensations she aroused within him. Her hands caressed him and her tongue stroked his delicately. She used one hand to curl the hair on his chest between her fingers before slowly flicking his nipple with her fingernail. When he drew in a breath because of it, she quickly flicked the sensitive spots behind his fangs and they snicked into place. She moved her head back to look into his eyes, her eyes facets of emerald.

“I want you inside me.” He moaned softly, he couldn’t help himself. “I want you to take me and when you can’t stand it anymore I want you to drink deeply from me because I want to scream your name when I come!”

She’d managed to get his sleep pants down and she gasped and clung to him as he entered her warm, silky depth. She sought his mouth, her tongue dancing with his, thrusting her hips to meet his strokes and they lost themselves in it. She kissed and licked his throat, he used his mouth on her breasts, the nipples hard and responsive. He wrapped his hands into her hair and rolling quickly, moved so she was astride him, his tongue trailing down the strong pulse in her throat, over her collarbone and to her full breasts, he purposely nicked her and when he suckled the tiny wound as a drop of crimson blood swelled; she moaned deep and long, her hands pressing his mouth even harder to her breast. She rode him hard, her hips snapping in a relentless rhythm.

Bill sat up suddenly and pulled her tight against him, slowly her slightly. They undulated together and he claimed her mouth. Gently, tenderly he slowed them, his hands stroking her hair, her back, her hips and bottom. All the while kissing her with slow, burning passion, while cooling them at the same time. When he released her mouth then touched his forehead to hers and opened his eyes, her eyes, filled with need looked deeply into his. Silently, they asked him why…

“I want to luxuriate in you until morning my beauty, I want to stay in you all night, revel in you, devour you, live and breathe you…”

“Oh! Then please do.” She whispered huskily as she wrapped her legs around his waist, “Please do.”

**XxXxX**

Bill was very happy to wake the next evening and hear Lainie moving about downstairs. He got up and dressed and laughed when he opened his door to find Jack and Bob laying there waiting for him.

“Well, hi guys! What’cha doing?” he scratched their ears and roughed them up and both of the big dogs acted like puppies. Of all Helena’s dogs, these two were his favorites. Jack was Lainie’s lead dog and he was a regal looking husky with china-blue eyes and a gorgeous silver, white and black face. Bob wasn’t regal… far from it. He was the epitome of a true Alaskan Husky… long-legged, brown, white, black and gray with one brown eye and one blue and best of all, one ear that stood straight and tall while the other drooped half-way down. But he was lovable, funny, too smart for his own good, an impressive team dog that always gave 150% and one that would pretty much do anything for belly rubs. Bill just loved him… he was still trying to teach him to bring a thrown ball back but Bob was more interested in running.

Once Bob learned that Bill could catch him… the ball was forgotten and all Bob wanted to do was run and be caught. Helena didn’t like him learning bad manners by just taking off, but decided it was okay when she saw that he’d come back if Bill didn’t give chase. Besides, she wasn’t racing anymore and Bill could catch him… well, at least make him stop! So, she let him have his playtime with Bill… as Bill came down the stairs she heated him a TruBlood and he came into the kitchen and kissed her, just as the microwave dinged.

“Hello, my darling.” He murmured in her ear as he nuzzled her neck, before meeting her lips once more with soft kisses.

She wound her arms around his neck and hugged him warmly. “Hello to you too.” She said with a smile before releasing him to open the microwave for his drink. He took a glass from the cupboard and she carefully shook the bottle and handed it to him to pour. She picked up her cup of coffee and walked towards the couch but before she could sit, Bill had her in his arms and settled her comfortably on his lap as he sat in his big armchair. She gave a little giggle and then sipped from her cup before laying her head on his shoulder.

Bill lightly ran his hand up and down her back and asked, “So, what did you do today? And what happened during your trip to Skagway?”

Bill was surprised when he felt her tense slightly and for a moment he was worried something bad had happened. She sat up straighter with a small sigh and set her cup aside. She looked at him and her eyes were serious. Bill wasn’t quite sure how to interpret this change in her demeanor but her also knew if he tried to rush her, she’d become flustered so he smiled encouragingly.

“Honey, I kinda did something, well, I was going to tell you about it first and then I didn’t, mainly ‘cause I didn’t know if you’d get it and well, I wanted you too but, I’ve never done something like this and I was afraid you’d think it was a weird thing to do but I didn’t and…”

Bill very gently placed two fingers on her lips to silence her, “Sweetheart, take a breath, relax and tell me.” He smiled.

She sighed and got off his lap, then sat before him on the ottoman. “Okay, you remember I told you about my friend Heidi that helps run the adventure camp? Well, I went to speak to her and her boss in Skagway and um, well, I’ve contracted my dogs to them for the summer. Half will go to Skagway and half with go with the glacier group in Juneau.”

“Why?” Bill asked thoroughly confused. “And what the hell is a glacier group?”

She stood and began to pace in front of the fireplace, stepping over the dogs that seemed to be out cold. “They fly the dogs by helicopter up to a camp on a glacier and then people come to stay there for vacations and mush the dogs with guides on the glacier. It’s great for the dogs because they are well-conditioned all summer with exercise and then they’re in good shape come winter.”

Bill suddenly understood what she was telling him and held out a hand to her. She gave him a slightly worried look as she took it and sat before him once again.

“Lainie, if all your dogs are in other places for the summer, what are you going to do with the kennel? Will you board others?”

She looked at him a little shyly and said softly, “Well, no… I was kind of thinking about maybe coming to visit you in Louisiana over the summer.” She started and quickly added, “I mean, not to like, live with you or… you know just kinda be near and… oh Bill, I’m sorry I should have talked to you about this first shouldn’t I, huh?”

Bill gave her a huge smile and pulled her back onto his lap, he kissed her gently, then deeply, wrapping his arms around her. He was ecstatic and could barely keep from laughing out loud! This solved so many problems he’d been contemplating for days, no weeks!

“Sweetheart I think it’s a wonderful idea! And if you’re going to go to New Orleans with me, you are certainly going to be living with me!” he drew back slightly to see her face better, “well, that is if you want to…”

She laughed lightly, “Of course I want to! I just didn’t want you to feel obligated if I came down there. In fact,” she hesitated, catching her lower lip between her teeth and driving Bill crazy. “I was a little worried that maybe it would be better because maybe you have, you know, other, um, ladies you… ah, hang around with in the summer.” She couldn’t look in his eyes.

Bill threw back his head and laughed, he had too. “Are you saying that you really thought you are my what, just my ‘winter’ girl?” He gathered him to her tightly for a moment or two while he chuckled. Then, he moved her so he could take his face in her hands and look deeply into her mesmerizing green eyes.

“Sweetheart, I love you. I’ve told you that… I’ve not been with another woman for years. You are the only woman in my life and the thought of having you with me over the summer is intoxicating! You understand that, right?”

Helena grinned, “Well, I’d hoped but we spend a lot of time apart and…”

She was silenced by Bill’s kiss.

**XxXxX**

When Lainie rose the next day, she was still ecstatically happy. She had hoped to maybe be with Bill for a few weeks over the summer, whereas Bill wanted him to remain with her the entire time he wasn’t in Alaska. It was more than she’d hoped for and better still, more of an adventure. She’d never been to the southern United States other than a couple of driving trips to vacation in Florida. To actually live in the south was going to be interesting, if for no other reason than to see if she would tolerate the heat and humidity. After much discussion, it had been decided that Jack and Bob would likely not enjoy it. Lainie had discussed the possibility of the dogs spending her time away with Susie at the Lodge. She finished her coffee and was drying her hair and thought she’d better go talk to her friend about how she might feel about it being longer than originally planned.

She put away the dryer and picked up her empty cup and silently watched Bill as he was at rest. She’d not expected falling for him, ever. In the beginning she’d been intrigued, certainly excited about the idea of being with him but not once had she considered a real relationship with him. Now, the thought of not being with him for months had depressed her to no end and made her contemplate actions to ensure opportunities to prevent that from happening. He’d managed to completely surprise her by insisting that not being apart had been a huge worry to him as well and so far, it looked as if she would be spending the summer months in Louisiana. Well, that was if Susie agreed to it and she wouldn’t know for sure until she asked her. She snapped off the bathroom light and crossed to the bed. She brushed Bill’s lips with a kiss and slipped out of the light lock doorway. Jack and Bob danced around her as she explained happily to them they were going to go visit their friend Susie and they’d better behave. As she left the house and they jumped into her truck, Jack solemnly promised with his eyes that he’d be on his best behavior. Bob just licked her face and basically asked, “What?”

**XxXxX**

As it turned out, Susie was delighted at the thought of having the boys with her over the summer and as Lainie made preparations she was alternately excited but held some trepidation. One concern was money and even though Bill assured her it was not an issue, she knew she could not be foolish financially. As luck would have it, a close friend approached her about using her home and kennel during the summer months for short-term boarding. It turned out to be a wonderful idea across the board. There would be someone there to ensure the place would be taken care of, she’d have a percentage of steady income and also a familiar place for Jack and Bob to go should things not work out for Susie. Bill couldn’t have been happier when she told him and they continued to make their arrangements to leave Alaska together for the summer.

**XxXxX**

Bill was propped up in bed working on his laptop, Helena lay beside him reading. He couldn’t help but wonder just exactly what she was reading as every now and again, she clearly became slightly aroused. He put the finishing touches on his reports and closed the computer, setting it aside. He slid down next to her and smiled.

“What are you reading?” he asked innocently.

She blushed lightly and said, “Nothing important.” As she laid the novel on the nightstand and then snuggled into his arms, kissing him as she did.

Bill, let it go for the moment in order to kiss her back, opening his eyes just enough to read the name of her book off the spine. Ah, now he understood.

**XxXxX**

About a week later, Lainie asked him, “Have you ever role-played?”

She was sitting on him in the tub with her back to his chest, relaxing in the oily, scented water. The jets had just timed out and the silence in the room seemed to roar around her quiet words.

“Mm… I suppose I have. Is it something you’d like to do?”

Bill moved her gently on his lap so that she sat so he could see her face. She slipped her arm around his shoulder and couldn’t quite meet his eyes. He realized he could feel through their blood bond that she was feeling a little shy and a little embarrassed.

“I’ve kinda been…” her eyes flicked to his finally and he saw just a glimmer of excitement there.

“Did you have something special in mind?” He gave her a sweet encouraging smile, and felt a small flare of excitement himself when she dropped her eyes.

“Um, yeah. Being… submissive?” Her eyes flicked back up to his.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, then softly kissed the tip of her nose, each eyelid and her forehead. He brought his mouth to hers once again and kissed her deeply, but not urgently. His tongue slipped between her lips and stroked hers gently, withdrawing it, his teeth tugged gently on the inside of her lower lip, applying just a hint of pressure. He drew back slowly and gazed into her eyes.

“I’ll think about it.”

Then he slipped her around once more so she faced him, placed her legs on either side of him, and slid himself inside her and sighed at her low moan.

**XxXxX**

Lainie had been just a little surprised when she’d heard the dogs fire up. She hadn’t been expecting anyone and as she got up from her desk she saw the hint of a vehicle moving through the trees up her driveway. The truck pulled up to her porch and the driver jumped out, leaning back inside the cab to retrieve a package and clipboard. She didn’t recognize him so she knew it must be a delivery of some sort. She opened the door and let him in. She signed for the package and asked the guy where he was from. She was shocked when he said Anchorage so she asked him if he wanted anything to eat or some coffee. He jogged back out to his truck for his thermos and she made a fresh pot. They chatted about the kennel, he used her bathroom and then left with a full thermos and she opened the box.

There were three small packages marked with the numbers, one, two and three and a envelope with her name, written in Bill’s hand. She opened the heavyweight stationary and removed a single sheet. It read:

_Helena my pet,_

_You will arrive at my home no later than 7:00 p.m. this evening. You are not allowed to arrive any earlier than 6:55 p.m. You will use the items in box number one before you get here. You will wear the items in box number two. You will bring box number three with you. You will **not** open box number three before arriving! I will know and you will be punished if I discover you have disobeyed me! _

_Until tonight,_

_Bill_

Whoa! Lainie’s entire body shivered with anticipation. She had thought this might be exciting but she hadn’t expected this! She picked up box number one and opened it carefully. Inside was a small bottle each of shampoo, body wash and perfume. She unscrewed the cap and it was a deeply heady aroma, spicy and musky and much heavier than anything she normally used. She realized with a jolt that it was overtly sexy and she was surprised at the burst of pleasure it brought forth.

She opened the second box to find it contained two black silk bags. One had a slick, heavyweight, herringbone 14kt gold, belly chain with little extensions of chain with small rings and charms attached. The other held a black velvet replica of a dainty dog collar, a hair tie and a loose black velvet ribbon. Lainie felt herself flush as her fingertips brushed across the soft velvet. She looked at the third box and was overcome with curiosity. She picked it up and turned it over in her hands, it seemed just a little lighter than the one with the chain and collar. She had to fight the urge to open it. She had visions of rapidly expanding ‘somethings’ that would never be re-compressed! It took all her willpower to put the box down and walk away from it. She gathered up the bottles and glanced at the clock, she had four hours, good, she had enough time to wax!

**XxXxX**

She arrived at Bill’s and saw the note on his door instructing her to come inside and stand by the door to await his instructions. A butterfly flitted through her stomach as she stepped in. There were at least fifty candles burning throughout the room and a fire blazed in the fireplace. She hesitated a moment, should she take her coat off? She decided not to and it occurred to her that it was extremely warm inside, warmer than she’d ever felt it before and then she caught movement on the balcony above her and she drew in a breath.

Bill stood at the top of the stairs, he wore black silk pajama bottoms and no top. He held something in his hand, but kept his hand close to his leg. His face gave her just a start, he looked… dangerous. His eyes glittered like sapphires and he spoke in a low voice.

“Take your coat off and strip.”

She frowned and didn’t at first and was startled when he suddenly stood before her.

“These are the rules.” He said quietly. “You will do as I say, when I say it. If you do not, I will punish you so don’t make me ask you to do something twice.” His eyes seemed hard and dark.

“You will not question me, you will not speak without permission and most importantly, you will not touch me or yourself without my permission. Do you understand? You may speak.”

Lainie looked at him and unconsciously took a half-step back. Her brows knitted together, her eyes were troubled, and her lips turned down in a small frown. This seemed to be far more intense than she had anticipated and a small frisson of fear spiked through her. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Bill smiled and his eyes twinkled.

“Questions?” He gave her a soft kiss and a smile.

She almost sagged with relief, “Yes! Um, punishment?” she squeaked.

Bill held up his hand, palm flat. “Some spanking? With nothing other than this.”

She bit her lower lip, then nodded slowly. “What else?”

Bill grinned, “A few surprises, nothing painful, just… intense. And a safe word, something you can say whenever you’ve had enough. You say it and I will stop that instant and the game is over. What do you think?”

She searched his face and knew instantly she could trust him. She nodded slowly. He gave her another quick kiss and then intense Bill returned.

“You will not use my name, you will call me Master when I command you. What is your safe word?”

“Joy.”

A smile flickered briefly and Bill said, “Strip. Now.” And stepped back.

With shaking hands, Lainie undressed. Now she understood why it was so warm, he’d set the temperature quite high so she could be naked and comfortable at the same time. She folded her clothes and set them aside, standing before him wearing only the chain and collar. Her hair in a long braid, with the ribbon tied neatly at the end. She looked at his eyes and he shook his head slightly.

“You may only look in face when instructed, understood? Nod.”

She did and she felt a fire light, low in her belly.

“Look at me.”

She lifted her face and his arm came up, he held a black velvet leash which he clipped to the collar. His eyes glittered darkly.

“You will walk to the couch and be seated, you will then put the shoes sitting there, on, and whenever we are on a carpeted surface, you will move only on your hands and knees. Understood?”

She nodded, he turned and with a slight tug on the leash, she followed him to the sofa. She followed his instructions and almost forgot herself when she saw the shoes and spoke. They were the pair of five-inch high black Christian Louboutin heels, peep-toed with a thin ankle strap, that he had bought for her when they’d gone to Paris the summer before. She couldn’t keep from smiling to herself as she put them on but was careful not to look at him.

“Stand up and walk to the end of your tether.”

She did and stopped about eight feet from him. He dropped the leash.

“Now turn around, spread your legs a bit, bend over at the waist and keep your hands behind your back.”

Fire blossomed as she turned and she followed his instructions. She felt slightly embarrassed and exposed but certainly aroused. She felt him behind her and his hands slowly ghosted along her thighs, over her upturned bottom and to her hands. He reached in front of her and took the leash. He brought it over her shoulder and she could feel him tying her wrists together. He then slowly pulled her upright with the collar. She stood there unsure as he trailed his fingers across her skin as he walked in front of her. She forgot and looked at him catching his eyes for just a moment before remembering. She looked away but not before she saw him frown.

He took her by the elbow and walked her to the back of the sofa. “Lean over the back.” He said quietly.

She did and he caressed her buttocks slowly before raining a quick few spanks upon her. She was startled slightly but was relieved that they did not bring great pain.

“A reminder,” he whispered. “You will only look at me when I tell you, you may. Nod if you understand.”

She nodded.

“Good girl. Now go stand in front of the fireplace. Spread your legs and look at the floor. Where is the third box I told you to bring? You may answer.”

She moved into place and said, “In my coat pocket.”

“In my coat pocket, who?” he said sharply as he gave her backside another spank.

“In my coat pocket, Master!” she answered quickly.

He walked to where she had hung her coat and took the small box out. He walked back to her and stood before her with it in his hands.

“You may look at me, did you open this? You may answer.”

She looked into his eyes and whispered, “No Master.”

“You are telling me the truth?” he turned his head questioningly, his eyes studying her face.

“Yes Master.”

He nodded slowly as he opened the box and removed a black silk bag. He opened the drawstring and into his hand fell a set of delicate herringbone chains with clamps, four in total. Lainie couldn’t help her quick intake of breath, Bill seemed to ignore it. With deft fingers, he connected the chains to the one around her waist.

Two hung down to mid-thigh, holding a third chain, he stepped forward and took her right nipple in his mouth and sucked and caressed it with his skilled tongue until it stood firm and pert in his mouth, with one final deep suck she felt deep inside herself, he removed his mouth, held her breast in one hand and applied the clamp to her erect nipple with the other. She moaned at the alien sensation, the clamp heavy but padded softly, the chain tickling her belly slightly.

“Shh, shh, shh.” He admonished gently.

She bit her lower lip and concentrated on keeping quiet as he did the same to her left breast. She couldn’t help how her breathing quickened though, try as she might, there was no way she could calm herself!

He stepped back and looked at her, then walked behind her and untied her wrists. She watched him as he walked to the couch and took a seat, dropping her eyes before he noticed. He gazed at her a moment and while he did, she tried to get a grip on her galloping thoughts.

“Spread your legs more… more. Good. Your legs are amazing in those shoes.”

Lainie felt herself blush, she was so exposed! She’d never done anything like this before in her life and it was as disconcerting as it was exhilarating! She could feel herself getting wet and her arousal had to be apparent to Bill and that made her even more conscious of her body!

“Now, I want you to slowly run your hands over your stomach, slower… good and then lower your hands, lower… excellent. Now carefully run your fingertips into your hair.”

She looked up at him, her eyes going wide and he instantly stood before her, put his foot on the hearth and bent her across his knee, giving her bottom a volley of quick, stinging slaps. He righted her and took her face in his hands looking into her eyes deeply.

“You will be free to look at me later my beauty, but for now, you may not as I wish to only look upon you, understood?”

She averted her eyes and nodded but was greatly relieved when he brushed her lips tenderly with a kiss. She drew in a shaky breath and adjusted herself to once again stand as he had told her, placing her hands on her belly as he sat down again.

“Continue and when you slip your fingers into your hair, I want you to lightly stroke your outer lips, very slowly and very softly.”

Oh god! Lainie thought to herself, am I really going to do this? But she did, even though her fingers trembled.

Bill moved forward on the couch and said quietly, “Excellent, now, slowly slide your palm across the whole of yourself, again. Good now very gently, very slowly I want you to take your middle finger and rub it from the top of your hair, all the way down across your clitoris and down the center of your opening. Do it now.”

Lainie blushed deep red, but did exactly as he said. He made her do it over and over again and she could feel her body responding, her lips swelling, her moisture growing and was surprised to suddenly feel his hand over hers but she successfully fought the urge to look at him, instead concentrating on his hand as it helped stroke her. She bit her lip harder to keep from moaning when he used his hands to pick up one of the tiny chains and she noticed the clamp on the end.

“Move your hips forward a little my love.” He whispered gently.

She did and watched as he tenderly exposed her soft swollen lips and applied the clamp, whimpering just a bit when she felt the pressure. He touched her lips gently with his and whispered, “Quiet darling.” Before reaching down to apply the second clamp.

She stood still; her legs trembling, her eyes shut tightly, her belly quivering as he stepped away from her.

“Open your eyes but keep them down.”

She did and slowly he circled her. He touched her skin with his fingertips, gave one of the lower chains a small tug and leaned forward to flick one of her nipples with his tongue.

“You look glorious.” He breathed and he circled her once more before settling himself on the sofa again. His eyes drank her in and he could only imagine what she was feeling. He wondered idly if she would enjoy this enough to want to do it more and perhaps be a bit more involved. He would love to see her in real bondage at some point. But for now? He sighed lightly and relished the moment before him. She had to begin somewhere if he wished her to go further.

“Bring your legs together and make sure you have your balance then come here very slowly and kneel before me.”

She did and was oddly touched when she saw him place a cushion for her to kneel on before him. Her fear of real pain and needing to use a safe word receded from her mind. He didn’t want her to be in any real pain or discomfort and she relaxed ever so slightly as she knelt before him.

His hand lightly touched his erection through the black silk and his voice was husky as he said quietly, “You will use your hands only to free me, then you will take me in your mouth and pleasure me using only your mouth. If you touch me with your hands, I will punish you. If I choose to come I’ll tell you but you may not come, and if you do I will punish you harshly. Understand? Nod.”

She did and was shocked at how her hands shook as she spread apart the fly of the pajama pant. She kissed his hard tip before carefully taking him in her mouth and sucking gently. She was rewarded with a hiss of indrawn breath as she undulated her tongue along him while alternately sucking and relaxing her mouth. She had to force herself to concentrate on him as she felt a hot flutter, flood through her lower belly and her body responded with a steady throb.

My word! She thought in shock, she hadn’t dreamed something like this could be so erotic! Much less get her so excited, she’d thought his words funny when he spoke of her climaxing but as she moved him in and carefully out of her mouth, alternating pressure on his silky length she realized she was extremely close and the tightness of the clamps on her nipples and nether lips were only making matters worse!

She carefully spread her legs apart some to keep any accidental pressure from setting her off, she drew in a great lungful of air through her nose working desperately to keep her mind on her task and not her body’s response. It was so powerful though, she was in complete control of this man and it felt good! She relaxed her mouth and changed the angle of her head before taking him in entirely and the moan it pulled from him was amazing, she did it again and again stopping only when she felt his balls lifting tight beneath her.

“No! Keep going and use your hands, make me come!” he gasped.

She didn’t hesitate and drew him in deeply once more, using her fingers to caress and stroke his balls before cupping them in her hand and applying gentle pressure. With a cry, he buried his hands in her hair and came forcefully in her mouth and before she could prevent it, and quite shockingly to her, she followed! Snapping her legs tightly together, the pressure of the clamps setting off shock after shock of climax and she couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped her. They settled down slowly and she carefully and gently lapped him clean before sitting back, her head tilted low. When her breathing became normal again, he spoke.

“Did you come?” his voice sounded cold. “Did you disobey me after all I said?”

She was surprised to feel tears prick her eyes as she nodded slowly. She wondered briefly if he would let her apologize, but then he sighed heavily and she knew that wasn’t an option. She was shocked when he took her in his arms and zoomed up the stairs. He put her on the carpet in the bedroom, pressing her shoulder slightly and she remembered, carpet! On your hands and knees! She got down on all fours immediately and he took the leash and led her to a wooden bench with a short back set up in front of the glowing fireplace. It was covered with silk scarves and pillows rested on the seat.

“Kneel on the seat and put your arms in front of you.”

She did and in a moment, he had her legs tied apart, she was leaned over the back with a pillow under her and her arms tied out before her. Her bottom was upturned, her legs tied far apart and her sex mercilessly exposed. She was shaking slightly not sure what to expect. She couldn’t see him and it unnerved her some when he began to speak in a quiet, measured voice.

“I am going to punish you now and it is going to be… severe. Do you understand why I am about to do this? You may speak.”

Her voice caught as she stuttered, “Be…, because I came and wasn’t supposed to.” She was shocked to feel a tear slip down her cheek, she felt so bad for letting him down!

“Yes. You disobeyed me and now you will be punished.”

He moved behind her and she felt the silk of his pants brush her lightly against her sex and before he moved away, he cupped her face lightly with his hand and whispered, “Your safe word is ‘joy’ use it the moment you feel you must.” Then he kissed her lightly on the back of her neck.

Then he peppered the backs of her thighs with slaps, moving up one leg and down the other and without pause, he moved quickly on to her bottom. She could feel the heat flooding her skin as he worked her over and more tears fell. She felt so ashamed and was sorry she failed to do that one simple thing for him. The blows continued and while she felt them obviously, they didn’t cause extreme pain but more like disappointment in herself. They slowed and stopped and she felt him slip his hand between her legs and stroke her.

“You’re very wet my darling, could it be you enjoy this attention? Not a sound.” He cautioned before smartly bringing the flat of his hand up to slap her lightly between the legs.

The shock of it about undid her and she moaned loudly as she writhed against her bonds of silk. He slapped her backside and hissed, “Quiet!”

She drew in a shuddering breath as he quickly gave her five quick slaps on her most delicate tissue in succession, her body straining and trying to comply with his demand of silence from her. Just as suddenly he began spanking her thighs and buttocks again until she was unsure of just where his hands were. They spanked and caressed, kneaded and pulled and then finally stilled, cool against her flaming bottom. Her breath came in gasps and she shook uncontrollably.

She heard the whisper of silk and he was behind her, untying her quickly, “My beauty, you are exquisite!”

He lifted her, turned and sat, setting her on his lap with her thighs on either side of his, “Look at me my darling…”

She opened her eyes and he slowly lowered her onto his huge length and her eyes fluttered as she felt him pierce her hot wetness, he licked away a tear and said urgently, “Let me see you, and hear you my love…”

She looked into his azure eyes and moaned as he filled her, “Oh Bill!” she whispered and he began to move.

She took in a great gulp of air as his length moved and pulled the heavy clamps on her lips, the sensation was like nothing she’d ever felt before and she thought she’d go mad! The fire inside her roared and she knew she would not be able to hold anything back. He set a rhythm of quick, short thrusts and she had all she could do to breathe. He dropped his mouth to her breast and when he suckled her nipple with the clamp still tightly in place she thought she would die. Her nipples felt huge and hot and before she was completely aware of it, he had stood up and moved to the wall. He held her against it tightly and lengthened his strokes as the clamps rolled and pulled until she thought she would never survive.

“I want to hear you!” he demanded and she cried out as he buried himself deep within her, “You will tell me when you’re going to come!” he whispered frantically in her ear as he continued to pummel into her, deeper and deeper burying himself to the hilt.

She cried out again and felt all logic flee her mind, her body a cacophony of sensations, each more intense than the last and she felt it start… the tightness, the desire to push, to push the tightness away and she screamed, “Now! Oh, now babe!”

As she began to come, he pulled away the clamps and as feeling flooded in, she lost her mind as the single-most powerful orgasm she’d ever had tore through her. She clung to him, screaming his name, barely feeling his roar or release as he pounded into her and while she was still screaming his name, he bit her and she climaxed all over again.

**XxXxX**

When she became aware of her surroundings again, she found herself comfortably in bed with Bill, lying on their sides. His face was awash with undiluted pleasure and happiness. He’d originally intended to play longer but he’d thought it best to stop now considering her response.

“Hi!” he said brightly, a huge smile on his face. “How do you feel?”

She smiled shyly and blushed. “Good… a little blown away maybe.”

He leaned toward her and kissed her gently, stroking her face lightly with the backs of his knuckles. His face serious he asked, “Too blown away?”

“No,” she whispered. “Maybe just right.” She smiled again and this time it wasn’t quite so shy.

Bill smiled broadly and covered her face with kisses as she giggled, “Stop!” she laughed loudly then and she let him kiss her passionately. He double kissed her lips lightly and then drew her closer to him tucking her head under his chin.

She sighed contentedly and snuggled closer. He drew curlicues on her shoulder and back with his fingertips and asked quietly, “Did I hurt you?”

She pulled back just enough so he could see her face and know she was sincere, “Well, I feel a little tender here and there but I’m okay.” She grinned, “Although if I would’ve known you were going to pull those clamps off I’m not sure you would have gotten them on!”

Bill laughed and said, “Well that’s the fun part sweetheart!”

“Yeah, yeah…” she groused but her smile was wide.

He kissed her lovingly on the forehead and whispered, “If you’re feeling tender, how about I run you a bath?”

“Only if you’ll join me.”

A half hour later, he brought her to yet another shuddering climax as he made love to her slowly and tenderly in the warm bath water. Tears flowed down her cheeks as the intensity washed through her again and again. God how she loved this man!

Afterwards, he held her close to him in bed and as she drifted off to sleep she heard him whisper lovingly, “You are magnificent my beauty and I love you so!”

All she hoped was that maybe he’d want to play like this again, perhaps once they were settled in Louisiana!

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks were hectic. Lainie transported her dogs to Skagway and helped her friend Judy settle in at her home and kennel for the summer. Then it was a whirlwind of planning and packing. She had a bare minimum of summer clothes but enough to get her by until she could buy more. Lainie hated to admit it but she was nervous about the move even though she knew she could return to Alaska whenever she wanted. It was more that she’d never gone anywhere new where she hadn’t at least known someone there first. Granted, of course she was going there with Bill but she was moving into his place and it wasn’t Alaska, he’d be asleep during the long daytime hours and she’d be alone.

She sighed and put the last of her things in the suitcase she was taking to Bill’s that night. Everything else had already been sent ahead and she would spend the next few nights with Bill before driving to Anchorage to fly out of Ted Stevens International. She shut her case, picked up her carry-on bag and headed into the other room. She chatted with Judy for a little while before loading the last of her things into her truck and heading to Bill’s.

**XxXxX**

Bill awoke and was surprised to feel Lainie’s disquiet. He frowned as he got out of bed and dressed to go downstairs, he had expected excitement but she was obviously nervous. He left his room silently and watched her unobserved from the top of the stairs, she sat on the couch holding a book in her hands but he could see she was not reading. He gave the sight thought for a moment, unsure of whether or not to ask her about it or let her tell him how she felt. He made some noise and she looked up and smiled.

“Hi,” she said, getting up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you get up, I – I was into my book.” She dropped her eyes as she lied, then turned to go to the kitchen.

Bill came up beside her and gently laid his hand on her arm and when she turned, he drew her in and kissed her lightly before placing his hand alongside her face.

“My beauty, are you having second thoughts about this?” his blue eyes, searched hers for the truth. She sighed and gave him a brief smile before putting her arms around him and laying her head on his chest.

“Yes and no.”

He hugged her back a moment and then led her back to the sofa, pulling her down beside him as he sat. He turned sideways to give her his full attention, taking her hands in his. “Tell me.” He said softly. She looked down at their clasped hands and shrugged her shoulders a little. Then looked up at him and he was shocked to see her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh sweetheart!” he pulled her into his arms as she wept silently. He held her until the storm passed, rubbing her back gently. He reached for a box of tissues on the table and pulled some out for her. As she took them he said in a quiet, measured voice, “Darling, if you’re this upset perhaps, well, perhaps you should wait to come until… you’re ready.”

It killed Bill to say it, he didn’t want to spend a moment apart from her and just the days she spent away taking the dogs to their summer home had been agonizing. Until that very moment he had not truly realized how terribly lost he would be without her by his side, he wanted to be with her desperately. He’d not felt this way about any woman in his long life, human or vampire and his heart was breaking at the thought that she may now choose to stay behind.

“No babe! It’s not that I don’t want to go, not at all!” she wiped her eyes and blew her nose delicately. “It’s just… I’m missing the Boys and I’m a little anxious yes, I won’t know anyone in New Orleans and you’ll be readjusting to the time changes and I’ll be alone, that’s all!” she looked miserable and her eyes filled again and Bill suddenly understood.

“Is it the Boys?”

Her face crumpled, tears fell and she nodded and added sadly, “I’ve never been away from them more than a few days since they were puppies!” and she began to cry in earnest.

He gathered her back into his arms and said, “Well, I’ll make some calls right now and we’ll bring them with us.”

She pulled back to look at his face, “How will that help? They’ll be miserable! They’ll have to deal with the heat and there’s no place for them to run…”

Bill took her face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes, “Darling, do you trust me?”

“Absolutely.” She sniffed.

He kissed her forehead and got up from the couch, handing her the tissue box as he did. He took his phone from his jeans pocket and set it aside as he turned on his laptop, walking into the kitchen to heat up a TruBlood. Lainie mopped her face with tissues and joined him there as he sat at the island tapping away while the microwave ran. When it was ready, she removed it and poured it into a glass for him then set it down beside him.

“Thank you, baby.” He brushed her lips with a kiss as she looked over his shoulder at the home heating and cooling website he had pulled up and frowned.

“I thought you said your house already had AC?”

“It does but in a moment, the garage will have it too.” He gave her a quick kiss before picking up his phone. A few minutes later, he was one the line with his executive assistant Oliver. Bill instructed him to have the garage accommodated with not only AC by the time they arrived but a section of the garage to outfitted with a special entry to the yard for the dogs to use at will and a much larger part of the property to be enclosed with fencing.  He then told Oliver to arrange for the flight to New Orleans to include the dogs, pausing only to ask Lainie if she would have all their veterinary information available if required. She assured him she did and marveled at his instructions to his Number One. Finally, Bill hung up and turned to her with a smile.

“Okay?” he held out his arms and she slipped into them gratefully.

“Well, I won’t have to worry about what to do with myself all day. I’ll be cleaning.”

Bill released his hug and tilted his head back to look at her grinning face. “A) I have a cleaning service and B) why in the world do you think you’d need to do something like that?” Bill was genuinely perplexed.

She laughed gently and shook her head slightly, “Ah Bill… you’ve never seen the way a Husky sheds. Much less how much they will in someplace as warm as Louisiana.”

“Oh. Well maybe you’ll have to vacuum a little.”

“Done.” She kissed him lightly, then kissed him again a little more thoroughly. She drew back and caressed his shoulders before slipping her hands inside his soft flannel shirt and began leisurely unbuttoning it before slipping it off his shoulders. She leaned forward and kissed his neck and he shuddered ever so slightly.

“My drink will get cold.” He said huskily.

“You won’t need it if you drink from me.”

Her hands drifted down his chest, her fingers carefully teasing their way through his dark chest hair before she dropped her head to his nipple, flicking it gently with her tongue. Bill moaned softly and cupped her head gently with his hand as her hands slipped lower and began to tug at his belt. He picked her up and set her on the island, then proceeded to pleasure her with his mouth and hands before carrying her to the couch to have her.

**XxXxX**

Two days later, Lainie boarded the Anubis Airline jet at a private hangar and was dutifully impressed. Anubis hadn’t required any paperwork for the Boys and in fact didn’t seem to pay attention to either of them. Jack of course was the epitome of calm, noble conduct… Bob, on the other hand was practically vibrating out of his fur. Lainie had to admit, she was more in tune with Bob’s excitement about it all. Bill was in another part of the plane in a safe carrier as it was still daytime but would be joining her once the sun set. She was glad about that because she hadn’t relished the idea of arriving in New Orleans to be left on her own. Bob jumped up on the seat next to her and as she tried to get him down a flight attendant smiled and told her he could stay put. Jack just looked at him with eyes that clearly said, “You asshole.” He settled calmly at her feet, the door was closed and less than ten minutes later they were airborne.

Bill found Lainie reading when he emerged from the holding area and couldn’t help but smile at Bob sprawled out on the seat next to her while Jack thumped his tail loudly on the floor as soon as he saw Bill. Bob noticing the thumping saw Bill and launched himself happily into Bill’s arms and Lainie started to laugh.

“I guess he’s still a little hyper.”

Bill put the big dog down and scratched his ears as he reached forward to scratch Jack’s as well. Then he leaned over and kissed Lainie and smiled widely. “And how are you doing?”

“Excited but not quite as hyper.” She said as she tucked her book into her bag. She pushed Bob out of the way and Bill sat beside her and took her hand.

They talked quietly and Bill answered questions she had about New Orleans, and before long they were getting ready to land. As the plane came in Lainie watched the city lights and couldn’t help her growing excitement. What an adventure this would be!

**XxXxX**

The plane taxied into a private hangar and Lainie’s excitement waned somewhat when they got off. The heat and humidity were utterly oppressive. The boys didn’t seem to care and Bill walked them around the back of the hangar so they could relieve themselves.

When they arrived at Bill’s home an hour later, Lainie was growing more and more anxious. It was not at all what she had expected. It was ultra-sophisticated, amazingly well-appointed and looked more like a spread from some architectural or home beautiful magazine. The floors were hardwood or travertine tile, the furniture expensive, the kitchen was a gourmet’s dream with lots of stainless steel and granite countertops and Lainie felt her heart sinking into her feet when she saw the dog’s claws slipping on the tile. She knew they could scratch it and she worried about the wood as well.

As Bill gave her the tour, her heart sank lower and lower. The artwork looked like artifacts one would expect to see in museums, quality pieces she knew were likely priceless and she was certain that there was at least one real Picasso and possibly a Rembrandt. She was quite overwhelmed and not remotely in a good way. All she could think was the potential damage the Boys could do with little or no effort involved.

Bill misread her anxiety as new move jitters and she tried to hide it but wasn’t very successful. So, being the absolute, sweetheart he was, he helped her unpack, patiently taught her how to use the security alarm, let the Boys out into their outdoor run and then finally took her to bed to welcome her sweetly into her new home. While their lovemaking relaxed her into near oblivion, still she worried.

**XxXxX**

Within a week, Lainie was pretty miserable. For one thing, she was extremely uncomfortable in the opulence of her new surroundings. Bill had amazing taste, was obviously a connoisseur of fine things and she spent virtually every waking moment scared to death she would break or ruin something. Then because of the heat, the dogs, as expected began to shed copiously. If you’ve never seen a husky shed you’re likely unaware they don’t shed just single hairs. They drop clumps of hair… a lot of it! As such, she was spending most of her time cleaning up after them when she wasn’t wrangling Bob off the very expensive furniture and praying their nails wouldn’t ruin the travertine.  She found herself vacuuming three and four times a day trying to keep up.

She had just sat down to eat a tuna salad sandwich at the kitchen island when she glanced into the great room before her. The sun was streaming through the large windows and what she saw brought tears to her eyes. In addition to the fine layer of dog hair all over the hardwood floor, there were obvious scratch marks, then she noticed the shelves and some of the objects ‘de art on the shelves and the frames of various paintings.

There was literally dog hair _everywhere_. It was too much and she began to sob, sure, she could try and dust away the hair but that artwork was priceless! What if she broke something? And oh my God how in the hell was she going to get the money to have the floors redone? Even worse was the marks she absolutely knew were from the dogs on the travertine tiles. She didn’t have money for something like that! As she cried harder, her heart was breaking. This had been a monumental mistake to come here. She didn’t fit in, she was virtually alone and she just didn’t know what to do about it because Bill seemed utterly thrilled.

Just then, she about jumped out of her skin when there was a quiet chime and Bill’s gentle voice said, “Lainie? Would you come to the bedroom please?”

“Be there in a sec,” she said meekly and scrubbed her hands down her face a couple times to wipe away her tears. Great. Now on top of everything else she was disrupting his sleep patterns, which were already difficult enough because of the daylight adjustments returning from Alaska.

When she entered his room a few moments later he was sitting at the side of the bed. He took one look at her face and held her in his arms before the light lock sealed. He hugged her fiercely before leaning back and taking her face tenderly in his hands.

“My sweet beauty, what’s all this?” His thumb captured a lone tear as it slipped from her eye. His face was creased with worry as he realized she was more than just a little out of sorts.

“Come,” he whispered comfortingly and taking her hand, led her towards one of the sofas in an intimate sitting area before a fireplace, away from the bed. As they sat, he debated putting her on his lap and was glad he hadn’t when she just curled herself up tightly beside him under his arm. He held her lightly as she shed silent tears, not quite sobs but obviously heartfelt.

Even though he wanted to know just what in the world was going on, he just let her cry it out knowing that in the long run it would be best. The one thing he couldn’t help worrying over was if this was a prelude for her telling him she wanted to leave and the very thought of that made _him_ feel like crying. After a moment or two the tears stopped and she wiped her face with the tissues he’d handed her and even though it appeared she was cried out, his bond with her proved to feel even more fraught with sorrow. He could tell she didn’t have a clue as to how she was going to explain her pain and Bill decided to bite the bullet and get it over with.

“Sweetheart, are you going to go back to Alaska?” he asked as gently as he could and was stunned when she jumped away from him liked she’d been given her an electric shock.

“What?! No! But… I don’t think, I mean…” She paced before him and while part of him wanted to stop her he knew this was part of her ‘process’ when she was upset. She suddenly stopped and turned to face him and he saw a cornucopia of emotions cloud her face and he couldn’t believe the first one that took hold looked a lot like fear mixed with extreme guilt! Just as he was about to stand and demand an answer to whatever was going on, she stopped and with her hands over her mouth she could barely meet his eyes.

“Bill, I’m so, so very sorry!” She had her knuckles bunched against her chin and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“Sorry about what, sweetheart?” he said as he moved toward her from the sofa not wanting her to feel any more anxious than she was already.

“Oh honey, they’re ruining everything! There’s scratches on the tiles and now on the wood floor and even though I’ve vacuumed three times today there’s hair everywhere! On the shelves, the picture frames! I’d try to dust them but that stuff has to be worth a fortune and oh my god what if I broke something? And the floors, Bill I can’t pay for those kinds of repairs! So. I should just go and take my mutts with me! I’ve emptied the bin like three times already but the hair is just everyplace! Oh Bill! I’m so sorry!” She looked into Bill’s beautiful blue eyes and wanted to crawl away in embarrassment.

Bill enfolded her into his arms and close to his chest and just held her for a second. Then he dropped a kiss on the top pf her head before moving out a bit to look her in the face.

“First of all, I would be devastated if you moved back to Alaska, secondly, if I’d been the least bit worried about what the Boys could or would do to the floors I would have told you they weren’t welcome and lastly, what do you mean when you say you’ve been vacuuming and dusting!?”

Her brows furrowed and she answered slowly, “Because basically I spend most of my days sucking up dog hair and trying to keep things clean without breaking something, like your priceless artwork!”

“Honey, I have a cleaning…”

“I know, I know it’s bad enough that they’ll hate me because I’ve brought those beasts into your fine house but they’d all quit and go screaming out of the place if I wasn’t vacuuming three or four times a day and they got an eyeful of the mess they really make!”

Without warning, Bill gave Lainie a long, slow delicious kiss before carefully turning her around and making her sit on the bed. He picked up his cell and hit one of speed dial codes.

“Anika? It’s me, yes, it’ll take a few more days to readjust, I need you to call Merry Fairies and tell them that from now on I’ll need to have someone on staff daily, yes one to start. If they feel it’s too much then tell them to have someone else come in regularly for a few hours like before. I would think every other day if needs be. No weekends but if we would need them they’ll be paid double time, yes, I mean that. Chances are if I need them on a weekend it’s because there’ll likely be guests so they’ll be working extra hard. Oh, and let’s set up an appointment for the first visit. I want them to meet the dogs with us present so they aren’t intimidated by their size. Which reminds me, make sure they don’t send anyone that has allergies to animals. Oh, and whoever they send doesn’t have to be in uniform, khakis’ and polo shirts are fine. I’ll call you later when I’m up for the night. Thank you, I will.”

Bill had been watching Lainie from the corner of his eye and he could also feel a great deal of her anxiety. He sat next to her on the bed and took her hand in his, he couldn’t see her face because it was curtained by her hair but he felt the hot tear that landed on their joined hands. That was enough for him to take action, in a blink of an eye he had both of them undressed and under the bed covers, he pulled her close to him and said quietly, “If you’re going to cry at least do it where I can comfort you and make you feel better.”

And she cried. Bill was somewhat relieved that it wasn’t all out sobbing, nor did it last very long and he could feel her anxieties fading slowly. He grabbed the tissue box and handed it to her when the crying subsided.

“Better?” he asked while she blew her nose. She nodded but didn’t speak.

“I’d like to talk to you about this further love, but I think some of it might make you upset or even angry but will you hear me out anyway?” he asked as he put two fingers under her chin so she would meet his eyes.

Again, she nodded and wiped her nose with a tissue. Bill had to fight hard against the urge to smile because she twitched her nose as she wiped at it and it reminded him of a bunny and he was pretty sure pointing that out at this moment was unwise.

“First of all, and I’m not saying this to trivialize, or be sexist or simply ridiculous but my sweet, you are about dead center on PMS-ing at the moment.”

She opened her mouth to protest, he hadn’t missed the quick flash of anger in those gorgeous emerald eyes, and he said, “please baby, hear me out?”

“Okay,” she said with a sigh.

“So, let’s put things in perspective; you sent your kennel of dogs to a fitness camp, we’ll call it, for the first time. You have a friend taking care of your place there, another first. Then you travel more than 4000 miles to a part of the country you’ve never seen, your two Boys along for the ride. You knew this was going to have its drawbacks, the biggest one being introducing said animals into an environment they’ve never experienced.”

“You arrive in the middle of the night and walk into a home as far from my Alaskan home you were familiar with to, well this. Then you start feeling confused and nervous…”

She opened her mouth to protest, put he gently placed a finger on her lips and shook his head and she remained quiet.

“To continue, the dogs are hairy beasts and you’ve been working yourself into a nervous breakdown simply because of the mess the hairy beasts are creating. So, you’ve been worrying yourself to a nub trying to stay ahead of the game. To add to the issue at hand you’ve seen scratches on the flooring and you’ve worked yourself up further because of it.”

“So, lets quickly recap; you’ve moved 4000 miles away from your home, the dogs are shedding and marking up the floor, you’re working yourself into a frenzy over it and you’re smackdab in the middle of your menstrual cycle. Did I leave anything out? Oh yes, I’ve been actually _leaving_ the house at night for work unlike the way I work in the winter months, I’m also still trying to readjust to my rest patterns and you haven’t left this house since the first night we walked in, have you?”

She shook her head no in the tiniest acknowledgement.

“You didn’t expect it to be this different, did you?” he whispered gently.

Slowly tears formed and spilled over and she couldn’t hold his eyes, she just closed hers as the tears slipped from them. Bill gathered her in his arms and begged her not to cry, he whispered about what it was like for him to have her with him and when the tears stopped, he gazed into her eyes and delicately wiped away a few errant tears and smiled his most tender of smiles.

“Sweetheart. I. Don’t. Care.” He punctuated each word with a brush of a kiss on her lips.

She was shocked by his words and stared at him open-mouthed. He used his index finger to push her jaw upwards then neatly tucked her head beneath his chin.

“The thing you need to realize is well, it’s a couple of things. If I were truly worried about dog hair or scratched up floors I would have told you they weren’t welcome here and they’d be in Alaska with Susie and you would be even more upset than you are now. Simple as that.”

“Oh, but Bill, the money…”

“Hush,” he said somewhat harshly and she hushed!

“The dogs are not an issue and I don’t wish to speak about it further. I love them here, I love playing with them in the evenings. I knew what they would could possibly do here, why do you think I had a separate cooling system installed? They’d need the adjustment just as much as you and for the rest, I know what they do up north so I was not unprepared in any way for hair or scratches or the occasional broken thing here and there.”

“Furthermore,” he carefully ‘untucked’ her head from under his chin to look into her eyes and his were grave. “If I find out that _you_ have been doing housework I’m liable to take you over my knee and believe me there won’t be a safe word involved!”

Her mouth dropped open once more and he held his sternest look for a beat more before breaking into her favorite smile. “I love you, I am so happy you are here I would have let the entire kennel come with you if that’s what it would have taken for you to be with me here.” He gently stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles and she reached up and took his hand and kissed them.

“I ask forgiveness about you being alone, it won’t be like this too much longer. It’s always crazy when I first get back because there are older vampires in the hierarchy that insist on face-to-face meeting instead of video conferences and I promise I will be home a lot more at night in the near future. I promise, I a couple of ideas I want to go over with you later but at the mo…” A trickle of blood began slowly inching its way from his ear on his neck.

“Oh, damn baby! You’ve got the bleeds!” she grabbed a couple tissues to wipe it away before thrusting her wrist to his lips, he began to protest and she gave _him_ her strongest glare and said, “Drink!”

He gave her a lopsided smile and then placed his hand behind her head and asked, “May I?”

She whispered, “Yes.” And he gently pierced her throat with his fangs and drank from her. After a few moments, he pulled away, pricking his fingertip to heal her small wounds. He knew she preferred being bitten on her throat over her wrist so she smiled at his thoughtfulness.

“Will you rest with me a little while?” he said softly.

“Of course.” He wrapped himself around her and as they snuggled together she said, “I love you Bill.”

“I love you too my beauty, I love you too.”

They slept.

**XxXxX**

After her four-hour nap with Bill, Lanie felt truly relaxed from almost the first moment arriving in New Orleans. The Boys went nuts when she emerged from the master suite so she took them outside to play, but first she snagged her tuna sandwich and a soda from the fridge. It certainly was humid and hot and she couldn’t begin to imagine what it was going to be like in the actual summer! She sat on (what she learned from the internet) the veranda at a white wicker glass-topped table to finish her lunch and marveling over the fact that even in this heat and humidity the Boys rarely stopped moving.

She knew part of that was due to the armed guards that walked both the grounds and the tops of the huge wall that surrounded the property. _That_ had taken some getting used to. Bill explained about his placement in the ‘food chain’ as he blithely termed it and that fact that there were always armed guardians night and day took some getting used to. The Boys quickly became favorites and the guards often kept ‘treats’ for the dogs in their BDU pockets. Lainie finally got most of them to switch out the treat bones with baggies with some of their kibble. She was worried the dogs would get overweight if they were constantly getting treats from practically every officer on every shift. Not to mention the change in diet making them digestively imbalanced. She knew there were still treats being given to them but she appreciated that they were taking one treat and breaking it into much smaller pieces.  

As she ate she thought a lot about the things Bill had said, and decided to just relax and go with the flow as her ‘hippie’ auntie used to say. She made two fairly major decisions as she sat there. First, she was going to make Bill show her what was first and foremost the most irreplaceable items among his artwork as soon as he was able to and secondly, she was going to take his advice and use the car service he had set up for her. Although that had one caveat… he was going to drive her around New Orleans so she could have a better idea of where things were and probably more importantly, where she must not go for safety reasons.

She held no prejudice against any area of the city nor certainly any of its people, but there were places in Anchorage and Fairbanks she would never stray into. It was just part of living in any large city, you had to know where the boundaries were for safety’s sake. It would be foolish to not know where it might not be the safest for a woman on her own to be day _or_ night. Of course, Bill had already told her that any of the guardians would take her wherever or whenever she liked but that had actually frightened her more than she let on.

Although there was one of the women day sentinels that she’d chatted with on more than one occasion. Her name was Rachel Brazendale but everyone referred to her as her nickname, Braz. They seemed to have a friendship developing and Braz had offered to take her sightseeing or shopping on her days off, Lainie, finally off her angst-ridden guilt trip, thought that it just might be fun to take Braz up on her offer. Her first priority would have to be shopping for more climate-appropriate clothing. Her ‘summer’ clothes that she’d brought with her were never going to work in this kind of heat.

The more she thought about it the more she liked the idea, it would be fun to buy thin tank tops and sundresses with spaghetti straps and actual sandals! She also wanted to buy some fancy lingerie to surprise Bill with… she’d love to see his face when she came to him dressed like something in a sexy magazine. She frowned a little though, she would save those purchases until she knew her way around enough to go alone. Bill might not like it if he discovered one of his guardians not only knew she’d bought sexy underwear to please him, but had actually accompanied her there! Yes, those purchases were better done in private.

She watched the guards walking along the wall and suddenly shuddered. In Alaska, her relationship with Bill was at a completely other level. It was relaxed, laid-back even… this. Well this had been an eye-opener. She understood a lot better about the security precautions he had in place there. She had to admit, in Alaska. she’d thought fireproof, alarmed, light-tight and all the other measures he maintained to be a bit of overdramatic. Now she knew that without this kind of protection, Bill could meet what was termed, the True Death. Watching these heavily armed people walking their posts, their always manned security center in a small building to the rear of the big house, where they monitored the CCTV screens from the cameras that covered every inch of the property, had been a real shock for her. It was Braz that explained to her that basically, within the AVL, and other vampire hierarchies, Bill was, in essence the same as the president of the United States. Hence, he had his very own version of the Secret Service and Lainie was watching them at the moment. It was a little disconcerting but at the same time, quite comforting.

Well, except for Captain John Marks. She was pretty certain that if it had been up to him, neither she nor her dogs would ever be allowed on the property, much less cohabitating with Bill. He hadn’t done anything that would be considered rude or improper, he was just a by-the-book kind of guy and her moving in with Bill and making an entire set of protocols in need of readjustment just wasn’t something he liked very much. He’d been formal and polite when he explained how things were done. He’d even supplied her with a binder which explained down to the exact detail of every security, dangerous weather or any other unforeseen event imaginable was set to be handled flawlessly.

She realized it was pretty much killing him to have a ‘civilian’ aware of these protocols and precautions but she studied them like her life depended on it. In many ways, it did. Not to mention the fact that if she screwed something up in an emergency event, it could cost Bill _his_ life, so to speak. So, she studied them and made notes in the margins and then wrote a list of questions. She asked to set up an appointment with the captain and when she met with him and told him why she wanted to see him, he seemed to give just a little. They’d never be BFFs but she respected him and her interest in making sure she knew exactly how to do things right, broke just a small section of ice between them.

**XxXxX**

Lainie was sitting at the kitchen island cutting up fruit for a smoothie when she saw both dogs suddenly become alert and then get up to meet Bill as he exited the master suite. She in turn, took a packet of blood from the fridge, emptied it into a glass and put it in the microwave. Normally, Bill drank TruBlood and from her but he needed the extra ‘push’ of donor blood until his internal body clocked readjusted. She had no problem with it and wouldn’t have cared if he drank it all the time, the one thing she did ask of him was if he had to drink straight from a donor, that he keep it to himself.

That seemed to surprise him somewhat but she explained that because his drinking from her was such a profound part of their intimate relationship, she’d just rather not know. As he began to explain that it meant nothing, she stopped him. She kindly explained that she didn’t really care _because_ she knew it didn’t matter but rather, she was just being a big wienie and didn’t want to know about it. After they got done laughing over her word choice, he agreed that if he ever did have to drink from an actual donor she would never know and she was good with that.

She heard Bill talking to the dogs as they fought for his attentions, even Jack got a little Bob-like when Bill got up in the evenings. The microwave dinged as he made his way into the kitchen, he gave her a kiss, opened the treat jar and tossed each one of the dogs a treat then turned back to her as she handed his blood. He slipped his arms around her waist from behind her pulling him close in an embrace, nibbling ever so gently of her ear shell. She couldn’t help but squirm a bit as she felt that nibbling all the way down to her toes.

“Did you have a nice nap?” he kissed her neck.

“Yes, thank you very much,” she turned in his arms holding the glass in her hand. “And before any of this goes any farther, drink.” She put the glass in his hand as he reluctantly released her from his arms. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

“Donor blood?” he asked before taking a sip.

“Yes, no TruBlood for the next couple of days, okay? Your ears were still bleeding when I woke up and that was _after_ you fed on me. You’ve got to get your strength back before it becomes chronic.”

Bill took a drink and nodded, “You’re right, this will work better with the bleeds than TruBlood. Would you like to go outside for a bit?”

“Sounds great, let me finish my smoothie.” She dumped the fruit into the blender, added some yogurt a little honey, some ground almonds and hit the button with a smile as he just shook his head and smiled back. She was having the time of her life with not only the availability of fresh fruit but also the fact that compared to Alaska, it might as well be free! She’d already told him that she was going to have to lessen her fruit intake in the weeks prior to them returning to Alaska. As she put it, she may as well detox before she went home rather than going cold turkey. Bill made a mental note to arrange regular shipments of fruit weekly when they left in the fall.

Once outside Bob immediately found his grungy tennis ball and took it to Bill. Now that he was fenced in, he was getting the hang of playing fetch. Even Lainie threw it for him sometimes until it got slobber all over it, then she was done. It was very pleasant, slight breeze had come up and the air was richly fragrant with many scents Lainie had yet to identify. She knew one was magnolia and she knew she’d learn the others soon enough. Having thrown the ball for Bob more than a few times, Bill told him it was enough so Bob dropped to the ground and proceeded to gnaw away at the ball like a chew toy. Sometimes it was hard to understand Bob’s train of thought but while he just kept chomping away on his ball Lainie asked Bill just what it was he wanted to talk about.

“First off I have to say I’m very happy to see you in a significantly better mood.” He smiled as she reached across the glass table for his hand. They intertwined their fingers and each gave the other a squeeze. She smiled broadly at him and winked.

“I also want to set up a meeting with the Merry Faeries people so they can meet you and then the dogs. I expect them to be comfortable around dogs this big and of course I want you comfortable with whomever they send. Since you’ll be in charge, if you don’t care for someone we can make the necessary arrangements to have someone else take over.”

“Why am I the one in charge?! They probably know more about this house and how it’s run better than I do!” she asked with surprise.

“That brings me to the next thing I want to talk over with you. One thing is obvious to me and maybe only subconsciously to you. Sweetheart, you had a very active life, you were constantly busy with _something_. The kennel, the dogs, your art and jewelry, here,” he said as he stood and because he was holding her hand helped her to her feet. “I want to show you something.”

“I gave a lot of thought to the things you said, so, how about we do this? I’ll take down,” she began to protest him changing things, but he silenced her with a very passionate kiss. She had to hold onto his upper arms because her knees were actually weak after that kiss! As he steadied her with a slight smile, he continued. “I’ll take a few things down and I’ll use them at my office. It was time for a change anyway.”

With his arm gently circling her waist they walked deeper into the house and which Lainie hadn’t really seen before. They followed a long corridor and finally came to an ornate set of French doors and Bill opened them and flipped the light switch which lit the greenhouse that had the special greenhouse smell and the plants and flowers seemed to stretch out forever. They were utterly beautiful but she turned to look at Bill with worry written all across her face.

“Oh baby, I don’t have the slightest idea of how to maintain something like this”

“I know that, what I really want you to see is the orangery.” They passed through the fragrant plants which led to another set of doors and this time when Bill hit the lights her jaw dropped as she took in the area around her. The first thing she realized was that the front part of the walls and at least a half of the ceiling was glass. It was bare bones for certain and she idly wondered why…

As if reading her mind, Bill spoke and told her that there had once been a large Cherry-bark tree not far from the garden that had come down during Katrina, destroying the entire orangery and a large portion of the greenhouse as well. He had it all restored, the greenhouse was his focus because he loved being in there and working with the estate’s gardener who also maintained the outside gardens. He hadn’t quite decided what to do with the orangery until she agreed to come to New Orleans with him, he began explaining just what he had in mind.

“It’s a blank slate my love and it’s perfect for you! You can decorate it in any way you desire, I was picturing the area over there to be a good place to set up your workbench and off course we’ll have to order in the kiln and smelter you’ll need and any of the tools. There’s a ton of natural light and I was thinking of that area might be a nice place to set up for your drawing and painting, and obviously you’ll have to get those things as well… basically my sweetest, you’ve got carte blanche, whatever you want or need is yours.” She began to protest and he actually pinched her lips together and solemnly shook his head no.

He released her lips and kissed her sweetly, his tongue and teeth carefully licking and nibbling down her throat, he kissed the hollow at the base of her throat before gracefully moving his tongue over her collar bones, then unbuttoning the top two buttons gently spread her shirt apart and continued his languidly, yet very arousing exploration of her upper body when he mouthed her hard nipples over the satin and lace of her bra, she couldn’t help but moan at the flash of fire that began in her lower abdomen and exploded upward until she felt sure she was about to ignite.

“Maybe we should go to the bedroom…” she said as she gasped for breath as he explored her body with his tongue, lips and hands. “Really, baby… um the guards can see!”

Bill stood up and pulled her into a tight embrace, “of course, you’re right.”

A moment later they were in the master suite and it didn’t take much more than an eyeblink for the two of them to be standing there naked. He kissed her slowly, his tongue stroking hers, his hand tangling lightly in the hair at the back of her head making her feel a million emotion and pleasures at the same time. When he ended the slow, deep kiss he worked his way once again down her throat and she moaned as if his lips were an electric current.

She gasped as his hands began moving across her body and when he picked her up to lay her on the bed she was breathing in near gasps as the sensations he was creating as he worked her body, seemingly everywhere at once, had her nearly incoherent of basic thought, sadly, one did manage to intrude.

“Babe, what about work?” she asked breathlessly.

“I called the meeting, so they’ll start when I get there.”

“Oh!” she squeaked as his fingers softly caressed the petals of her already throbbing sex and in an instant, they slide inside her. As he kissed her mouth, her throat, her breasts, he carefully drove her to a fever pitch, an almost there, release but held back which caused her to gasp, “No! Don’t stop now!”

He smiled a smoldering smile, his blue eyes shining as if they held shards of mirrors in them, and said quietly, “Not yet my lovely one… I intend to be very, _very_ late for my first meeting.”

“Oh well then…” and she gasped when his fingers moved inside her again.

**XxXxX**

Almost two hours later they stood under multiple shower heads after he’d taken her in the shower for the fourth, or was it fifth time? At any rate, they were discussing plans for the next day. She was going to use the car service in the morning to go do some shopping as well as meeting with a contractor and architect to design the orangery to her taste. The conversation about it had had some heat to it, she was very put out over just how high these renovation costs could go but he shut her down with a single sentence. He didn’t care because he wanted her to think of this as her home and whatever it took to make her happy didn’t bother him in the least. She kind of hated when he did that but there was little for her to object to after he’d said that.

She did have one extremely important issue to discuss and that was her preferred medium for her jewelry… sterling silver. When he asked if she could just simply work with gold she agreed she likely could but buying gold to use to make her jewelry wasn’t in her budget and she put her foot down and forbade him from buying her gold with which to work. He acquiesced a bit too quickly which put her on guard somewhat but he had agreed so for the moment it seemed they’d reached an agreement.

Bill was fairly certain that the silver wouldn’t be much of an issue, being as far away from the main living space would basically negate any true weakening of him but as a precaution, he’d have a specially designed safe installed, one not only up to basic safe standards but with a special lining of lead in the construction as well. While Bill wouldn’t be in her work area regularly enough to severely weaken him, the sentinels and guards would and that was by far the biggest reason for the extra precautions.

On that point, they agreed completely. When she’d brought up getting together with Braz, he was very enthusiastic about it and that made her happy. She knew a large part of his happiness was based on the fact that Braz would essentially be a bodyguard, she was more than happy to allow it because she was looking forward to getting out and meeting new people. Once she allowed herself to stop worrying over everything she was anxious to get to know her new city and hopefully make new friends.

Bill stepped under her showerhead and gave her a heart-stopping kiss before telling her he was getting out. By the time she got out and was wrapping herself up in a large fluffy towel, he came back in fully dressed and ready to leave. He kissed her again and she told him she’d see him in the morning and with that, he was gone. She dried her hair and slipped into a nightie, throwing the damp towels over the shower doors by habit. Bill had let the dogs in when he’d left, Jack of course was lying on the floor by her side of the bed. Bob was on the bed on Bill’s side, his tail thumping hard against the mattress. She was going to make him get down and then muttered, “Screw it, he can brush the dog hair off in the morning.” Lainie got into bed and was asleep no more than five minutes later.

**XxXxX**

The next morning when Bill returned he had to fight his urge to wake his sweet Lainie up, he had no problem kicking Bob off the bed, and changing his dog hair covered pillowcase, but he just couldn’t bring himself to wake her. She looked so beautiful, relaxed and peaceful. Something he hadn’t seen for a while now, he was glad she was going out today. He had also been very happy to learn of her budding friendship with Braz. For one thing, he liked the idea that she would be with someone who could protect Lainie in an emergency and Braz was already someone Bill trusted implicitly. He got the dogs out of the bedroom and sent them outside to do their thing. While he waited he threw a bag of donor blood in the microwave and heated it. When done he poured it into a glass and sat down at the kitchen island and perused his way through some of the catalogs Lainie had lying there.

He automatically turned to the pages she had dog-eared and it didn’t take him long to figure out the things she was looking at, he flipped the catalog to its back and saw that there was a local store. He took his cell out of his jacket and speed dialed Oliver. They spoke briefly and he heard the dogs rushing in through their portal, he gave them their treats, gave their heads a good scratch and rumpled up their hair before closing things down for the night. When he and the Boys entered the bedroom, Lainie rolled over and gave him a sleepy, yet very sexy smile.

Bill had to admit he was glad she was awake because he wanted her and in a split second he was naked, in bed and divesting her of her nightgown. She smiled broadly as he moved closer to her and she felt his desire. He kissed her long and sweetly and when they broke the kiss, he brought his hand up and softly drew his fingers down the side of her face.

“Good morning to you too.” She said with a relaxed smile. “How was your meeting?” she asked while placing little kisses along his jawline and down his throat.

“Well there were a couple people that weren’t happy about the late start but they got over it.” He used his tongue to lick her from her collarbone, up her throat and delicately caught her earlobe with his teeth nipping it lightly. She shivered in response and Bill knew it wasn’t because she was cold!

They softly explored one another, slowly savoring the other’s touch… Lainie always enjoyed making love with Bill but these times were the ones she loved best. The ones were they forgot there was anyone else in the world but the two of them and spent delicious hours worshipping each other to fantastic heights of pleasure.

In no time at all, she was gently suckling Bill’s rigid length while at the same time he had parted her intimate petals and was igniting her with his tongue and long fingers and when her crescendo peaked, she moaned low and deep and pulled extra hard on him, allowing her teeth to gently graze his most delicate skin and pleasurable spot. He brought her once again to the golden edge replacing his tongue with his fingers and bit her femoral artery and she gasped and cried out and Bill found his release as well.

Afterwards, they lay sated in each other’s arms and after a bit of rest, began once again, stroking and caressing her. She was more than content to let him continue until she tasted blood as she nuzzled his neck. She drew her head back and saw he was bleeding from his ears. She placed her hands on his forearms, gently squeezing them to get his attention. He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose and looked at her with a touch of confusion in his eyes. But she just touched the blood seeping from his ear and showed him her bloody fingertips. He captured her hand, licking the blood from her fingers, and she couldn’t deny it was certainly raising her libido but she shook her head and stopped him.

“Sweetheart, I know you think a little while longer won’t make a difference but forgive my love when I beg to differ.” She began to work her way off the bed but she gave him her most serious look. With a heavy sigh, he laid back on the pillows.

“I’m going to get you some blood and then you’re going to get some rest, understood?” she said with mock, yet true seriousness. He could see the concern on her face and agreed immediately. She left and a few minutes later she returned with and extra-large mug filled to the brim. He dutifully downed it while she used the bathroom to get a warm washcloth to clean away the blood running sluggishly down his ears and neck. After he finished the mug she snuggled up next to him with her head on his shoulder.

He cleared his throat slightly and said somewhat hesitantly, “You know how much I love making love to you don’t you?”

She picked her head up so she could look into his eyes and saw the look on his face that seemed off somehow… maybe guilty? The tumblers fell into place and she sat up completely, pulling the sheet up to cover her breasts.

“Bill, what did you do?”

If he’d looked a little guilty a moment ago he definitely looked guilty now.

“I -I ordered some things for you, just to see if they’re something you’d like to use, try them out uh, temporarily so to speak.”

Her brow furrowed and she frowned, “So you thought you’d come home, exhaust me with extensive lovemaking and then maybe I wouldn’t get upset about the ‘delivery’ I’m going to get today?”

“Now you know that’s not the only reason I would want to make love to you!” he said slightly indignant.

“But in all honestly, it just might have made things easier, right?”

Bill sighed heavily and dropped his eyes, before looking at her with a very small grin and said, “I admit it, it would make things easier when you’re especially… relaxed.”

“Biillll….” She moaned with exasperation in her tone. “Do I even want to know what is being delivered?”

He took her hands in his and skipped his fingers between hers, gave them a squeeze and said, “Some of the things for your studio.”

Clearly, it was the last thing she expected him to say because her mouth dropped open at his words. “How in the world would you even know what I need?”

“I called Judy and Susie.” He gave her a somewhat smug smile.

“What… how? Okay, you’ve lost me explain so I can get out of here and you can get some rest, shit, you’re still bleeding, hang on.” She flew out of bed grabbing the mug and was back a few minutes later with it freshly filled. He’d sat up against the headboard and took the mug from her as she crawled back into bed to sit propped up beside him.

“Okay, spill.” She said in all seriousness.

“I called Judy and had her get me the makes and models of your kilns and smelters and also the bulk of your tools, I talked to Susie because she knows more about where you order your supplies from and with that I had Oliver order what you’d need.” He sipped his blood as she digested his words. He put the mug on the nightstand and once more reached out and took her hands in his, bringing them to her mouth to kiss the backs of them.

“Now you must understand, some of the things will be different because some models aren’t available anymore so there will be a few things you’ll have to work with will be slightly different but are basically just newer models of what you had.”

“Aw man, Bill do you do this kind of stuff to drive me crazy?” She gave him a look almost defying his to answer.

“No.” He said as she suddenly found herself beneath him, “I do it because I love you,” he kissed her gently on her forehead, “and because I want you to be happy,” he kissed the tip of her nose, “and because I will do anything I want to make you glad you came with me to Louisiana.”

He kissed her lips softly as he peered into her emerald green eyes and they’re highlights of gold, fringed with her thick, lush lashes.

She sighed, and whispered, “Fine, you’re off the hook for the moment but this is something I will NOT tolerate in any way, shape or form.” Her voice was stern and hardened and he was surprised by it.

“You absolutely will NOT buy me any silver or gold to work with, is that understood?”

“Absolutely.”

“Bill I’m serious here. You buy me silver or gold to use and I will be on the first plane back to Anchorage with the Boys.”

“I agree.” He said solemnly, then began kissing her throat, trailing his tongue to her collarbone and nipping lightly at her tender skin as he inched his way towards her breasts.

She was slightly surprised at his immediate acquiescence to her ultimatum but by the time he took her nipple in his mouth and she heard his fangs snick into place, she forgot all about it.

**To be continued…**


End file.
